Apple posts record $88.3 B in revenue despite fall in iPhone sales

Despite a fall in iPhone sales, Apple has posted a record revenue of $88.3 billion — a 13 percent increase from a year ago — for the holiday season quarter that ended on December 30 — pocketing $20.1 billion in profits.

Apple sold 77.3 million iPhones in the holiday quarter — roughly one million units less than what the company had sold in the same period a year ago.

According to the company, it now has a 1.3 billion active installed base of devices globally.

"We're thrilled to report the biggest quarter in Apple's history, with broad-based growth that included the highest revenue ever from a new iPhone lineup," Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a statement late on Thursday.

"iPhone X surpassed our expectations and has been our top-selling iPhone every week since it shipped in November," Cook added, allaying reports that iPhone X has not done well since its launch.

Apple's earnings per share rose 16 percent to $3.89 which is also a record. International sales accounted for 65 percent of the quarter's revenue.

Apple's cash reserves reached $285.1 billion in the quarter.

"Thanks to great operational and business performance, we achieved all-time record profitability during the quarter, with EPS up 16 percent," said Luca Maestri, Apple's CFO.

"Cash flow from operations was very strong at $28.3 billion, and we returned $14.5 billion to investors through our capital return programme," Maestri added.

Apple's revenue continues to come from iCloud, Apple Music, iTunes and the App Store — with an increase of 18 percent (year over year).

For its fiscal 2018 second quarter, Apple forecasts revenue between $60 billion and $62 billion.

"We've also achieved a significant milestone with our active installed base of devices reaching 1.3 billion in January. That's an increase of 30 percent in just two years," Cook said.

Apple sold a record 22.39 million smartphones in the US in the holiday season last year, increasing its market share from 37 per cent to 44 percent, a report said on January 31.

Since its launch on November 3, with nearly eight million units sold, iPhone X outsold iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus by a 2:1 margin in the US.

According to Counterpoint Research's "Market Pulse programme, 51.2 million smartphones were sold during the holiday season quarter of 2017.

"Apple shipped a record 22 million iPhones for the first time ever in a quarter in the US which is an impressive feat because the Q4 promotional season was not nearly as aggressive as previous years," Research Director Jeff Fieldhack said in a statement.